Viciebsk region police trained to suppress protests
August 19, Pozirk. Territorial police units under the authority of the Viciebsk regional police conducted an anti-riot drill at the Łasvida training ground on August 18.
The exercise tested “tactical togetherness” and “readiness to act under various conditions and in various situations, the regional police said.
During a similar drill conducted in Mahiloŭ on May 27, Interior Minister Ivan Kubrakoŭ said that police were being trained to prevent a repeat of the 2020 protests, a reference to the massive peaceful demonstrations against alleged fraud in the presidential election.
Kubrakoŭ stressed that police officers should not hesitate to use firearms “if someone is trying to commit mayhem” against security forces deployed to suppress riots.
Police conducted exercises in Viciebsk on April 23 and 24, in Baranavičy, Brest region, on June 4, in Viciebsk and Rečyca, Homiel region, on June 23 and 24, in Słonim on July 7, and in Hrodna, Lida and Vialikaja Bierastavica on July 29 and 30, and in Minsk on August 11 to boost their readiness for the dispersal of street protests.
Although the 2020 post-election protests were largely peaceful, police used brutal force to disperse them and arrest participants. Several protesters were killed, but their deaths have not been investigated.
